The term Indian Trade describes the people involved in the trade. The products involved varied by region and era. In most of Canada the term is synonymous with the fur trade, since fur for making beaver hats was by far the most valuable product of the trade, from the European point of view. Demand for other products resulted in trade in those items: Europeans asked for deerskin in the Southeast coast of the United States, and for buffalo skins and meat, and pemmican on the Great Plains. In turn, Native American demand influenced the trade goods brought by Europeans.

Economic contact between Native Americans and European colonists began in the 16th century and lasted until the late 19th century. Although the relationship between Europeans and Indians was often marred by conflicts, many tribes established peaceful trade relations with the new colonists during the early stages of European settlement. From the 17th to the 19th century, the English and French mainly traded for animal pelts and fur with Native Americans. On the other hand, trading between the Spanish and Native Americans was sporadic and lasted only for a couple of decades. Eventually, wars, the dwindling of Native American populations and the westward expansion of the United States led to the confinement of tribes to reservations and the end of this kind of economic relations between Indians and European Americans.